Foot Locker’s New-Age Stores are Fueled by Nike’s App to Make Offline Shopping Fun Again

In the age of E-commerce, when customers are increasingly getting habitual of online shopping, Sneaker Retail giant – Foot Locker and Nike have partnered together to open a tech-integrated “Power store” in New York to attract customers ‘back’ into their physical retail outlets.

Based in the heart of Manhattan – Washington Heights, the 9,000 square foot store opened its doors on August 10, 2019. This so-called ‘Community Store’ is chock-full of interactive experiences as it is fully integrated with the Nike app, offering a unique shopping experience to its walk-in customers. Shoppers are able to use the app to scan products on mannequins, get price and sizing information as well as get exclusive access to some of the coveted sneaker launches via Nike Shoecase. Another cool feature of this high-end retail space is the “Unlock box” where Nike Plus members can unlock free limited-edition items like Nike socks. Shoppers can unlock new items every 14 days.

This isn’t the first time that Nike has woven the mobile app in their physical store, but this is the first time when the Nike app can be used in a multi-brand sneaker store.

Michael Martin, Nike’s global head of digital products said: “The way we look at digital and in-store is not channel-by-channel, or one channel helping the other. Instead, we architected the entire notion of why someone with a phone in their pocket would walk into a store. We want to have the best store experience where our most connected customers are, whereas another company might look at the inverse — if people are shopping in the app, they don’t need a store there. But we see our approach as better serving our customers.”

To give you a background – Nike’s products are accounting for the majority of sales for Foot Locker, making Nike Foot Locker’s biggest retail partner. And, as more customers are giving up on the traditional brick and mortar stores for online shopping, the two giants have come together to take their offline sales efforts to the next level, as they announced plans to open 50 power stores in the US in the coming three years.

“We want to get to know consumers better so that we can serve them better. Foot Locker’s got amazing relationships here locally in the community, and we want to take advantage of that. Consumers in this community love Nike and we love them back, so we’re bringing our technology as a part of our new network strategy.” said Ann Hebert, the Vice President of global sales at Nike.

These stores have some amazing features which include lockers around the store for customers to pick up items they purchased online and Nike Plus Shoecase, where shoppers can get access to limited-edition sneakers by scanning their QR codes. Despite the collaboration though, the store is not overly populated with Nike products.

( Nike Plus Shoecase. Nike members scan their member pass and they’re entered into a real-time drawing to win the opportunity to buy a pair of high-end sneakers. )

While many retailers are limiting their physical stores or are going completely online, Foot Locker & Nike have taken a radically different approach by creating a new touchpoint which is more interactive than traditional e-commerce and brick & mortar stores, thereby creating a new experience to lure the customers back in.

Guest Writer at Today's Ecommerce, Pulkit is the Founder at ILoveFashionRetail. He specializes in helping fashion businesses grow through technology. Pulkit's essays on Ecommerce are featured by Forbes, Moz, Bloomsberry, FIT and more.